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Author
Topic: NAFTA (Read 1360 times)

I hope that the talk of opting out of NAFTA isn't just a bunch of election hogwash. I don't know if Clinton or Obama mentioned it first but I absolutely support their interest in opting out. With only Canada and Mexico left, we'll definitely opt out and that can only be good for us. While Canada may not be a big producer of finished goods, we are a huge supplier of energy and raw materials. Perhaps this would see a move back to a greater manufacturing sector and less of a reliance on places like China, India and Mexico? Go Democrats!

If NAFTA fails then the future can't be too bright for the SPP either...

The problem as I see it with NAFTA and many other trade agreements is that they are "free trade" agreements rather than "fair trade" agreements.

I lost a job to outsourcing once already. Simply put, thanks to these "free trade" agreements, I lost a job making about $38k a year working for one of the most profitable companies in the world to someone making an average of $5000 dollars a year.

There is absolutely no way we can compete with that. Hell, 5k a year wouldn't even cover my very modest mortgage payment.

Essentially, we are letting companies get away with hiring the equivalent of slave labor, re-importing their product to the US with little to no duties and then blaming the American worker for not being "competitive".

There is some minor benefit to the consumer who will pay less for stuff, but the people reaping the big rewards are the businesses that have 98% of their workforce in a foreign country and get the benefit of being an American corporation.

As for the consumer who sees a minor benefit, one needs only drive through some of the factory towns that were doing pretty well until we started making these deals. One town in Georgia that I visit my family in had something in the neighborhood of 10 rather large factories that produced everything from Levi's to towels to uniforms. Every single one of those factories is an empty building now.